


best luck

by winterheats



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Drunken Confessions, Fluff, M/M, Stangers to Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-05 10:43:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17323523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterheats/pseuds/winterheats
Summary: what happens when kim jaehwan, a rookie singer, ends up singing the theme song for an upcoming film starring ong seongwoo, an actor known for his good looks and acting prowess.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> to my prompter:
> 
> thank you for coming up with this lovely prompt! i'm not sure if anything in this fic is what you had in mind but i hope you're able to enjoy it nonetheless c: i had so much fun writing this and it makes me really want to see jaehwan sing the theme song for a project ong's apart of in the future some day!
> 
> -
> 
> (!) apologies in advance for any spelling/grammar errors *~*

_You’ll be singing an OST._

The words spoken by his manager kept repeating through Jaehwan’s head as he drove home from his meeting at his company. 

Jaehwan had recently made his debut as a soloist and was able to find mild success. He didn’t quite top the digital charts or sell hundreds of thousands of albums, but he did have a sizeable, and growing fanbase that supported him and his music, which for Jaehwan was enough. As long as he was able to do what he was passionate about and loved, and there were people willing to listen, he would be satisfied. 

The opportunity to sing an OST was a huge deal for Jaehwan. When he decided that he wanted to pursue music, singing for a show or a movie was something he always looked forward to doing one day. Jaehwan just didn’t expect that day to come so soon after his debut. 

Based on his meeting with his manager and a handful of people involved with the producing of the song and the film’s production, the song would be an acoustic ballad. The film, according to what his manager had explained to him, followed a young man trying to find his place in the world after having recently graduated from university.

The crew were still in the process of wrapping up filming so they didn’t have much footage to show Jaehwan in order for him to get a grasp of the film, but that didn’t worry him. Immediately after he got home from the meeting, Jaehwan grabbed his guitar and began familiarizing himself with the lyrics and sheet music that was given to him. In less than an hour he had fully memorized how to play the song on the guitar. By the end of the day he was already singing the lyrics and humming the melody without even realizing it. 

When he called his parents later that night, sharing the news of his first OST, they were ecstatic for him. They knew firsthand how hard Jaehwan worked, and is still working, to pursue his dream of being a singer. His mother told him that once their phone call was done that she was going to tell all her friends so they could tell all their children to listen to the song. The idea made Jaehwan laugh, but he thanked her for her support. His father told him that he would let everyone at the church know to stream, which made Jaehwan laugh even more because he never thought he’d see the day he’d hear his father use the word “stream” in the context of digital music. 

Once his phone call was over, he washed up and got himself comfy in bed. He replayed the audio recording that he took of himself singing the song in its entirety. He noted the parts where he felt he was lacking then called it a night, the warm feeling of contentment settling in his chest as he felt a brighter future coming out of this OST opportunity.

-

A week later was recording day. 

Jaehwan arrived to the studio, nearly fifteen minutes early, with a couple cups of coffee in one hand and a bag of various baked goods in the other. The recording was set for 8 AM and Jaehwan wanted to treat the staff for being up so early in the morning. 

He was greeted with smiles when he entered the recording room. “Jaehwan!” His manager said.

Jaehwan bowed to everyone in the room. Aside from his manager, there were the same three producers who were at the meeting, and someone Jaehwan didn’t expect to be there: Ong Seongwoo. Jaehwan’s jaw dropped. 

The actor approached Jaehwan and was about to shake his hand when they both realized that Jaehwan hands were full. 

“I’ll take those,” Jaehwan’s manager said, grabbing the drinks and food. 

“Nice to finally meet you,” Seongwoo said as they finally shook hands. 

Jaehwan had interacted with celebrities many times but seeing Seongwoo the way he was right then, with no makeup, a hoodie and sweats, Jaehwan felt completely starstrucked. How could someone be so naturally gorgeous? “Yeah, same,” was all Jaehwan managed to say, causing Seongwoo and others in the room to laugh. 

“Sorry,” Jaehwan apologized, “I just didn’t expect you to be here. Also, has anyone ever told you how handsome you are in person? I mean, I’m sure you get that a lot but -”

“Did you bring these for us?” Jaehwan’s manager asked, cutting him off, probably for good reason or else Jaehwan would’ve just continued to ramble on about how beautiful he found Seongwoo. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I had breakfast before coming here so help yourselves.”

“Aw, thanks,” said one of the producers. 

“You can enter the booth,” said one of the other producers. “We’ll get this all set up and just let us know when you’re good to go.” 

Jaehwan warmed up his voice with a couple vocal exercises. Another person entered the room with a camera. The man spoke with the producers and Jaehwan’s manager before he entered the recording booth. 

“I’m just here to shoot a couple shots for the music video,” he said. 

Jaehwan just nodded his head, “Alright.” It was a good thing he had applied some makeup before leaving his house.

“We got everything set up. You good, Jaehwan?” one of the producers asked over the mic. 

Jaehwan grabbed the pair of headphones on the music stand and placed them on his head. He looked towards the producers and gave them a thumbs up. A couple moments the familiar strumming of the guitar that he heard in the demo began playing. 

Just like that, Jaehwan had let himself get completely immersed into the music. He had the sheet music displayed in front of him with the lyrics but like the pro he was, he rarely looked at it. 

The first recording went by fast and by the end of it, everyone in the room were sending Jaehwan praises, complimenting him on his voice and his ability to deliver such emotion, just on the first recording alone. 

“That was good, Jaehwan!” said one of the producers. 

“ _Really_ good. In fact, I think one recording is enough,” said another producer. 

“Really?” Jaehwan asked, a big smile on his face. 

“Don’t look a little too excited there, Jaehwan,” said his manager. 

Everyone in the room laughed. 

“I’m just taken aback by all the praise. I’ve never had any recording go so smooth that only one recording would do,” Jaehwan clarified. He was sort of a perfectionist himself so he never complained when recording sessions would take hours; but seeing as the song was a simple acoustic ballad that didn’t require many adlibs or vocal layering, Jaehwan would be fine with the recording session being shorter than what he was used to. 

“Is it alright if we do two or more run throughs?” asked the cameraman in the room. “You don’t have to be recording or anything, I just need a couple shots from different angles for the music video.”

“Okay,” Jaehwan agreed. 

They got through a couple run throughs of the song before the cameraman said he had enough footage and went back to his studio in the building. 

“That was good, that was great,” said the main producer. “You can come out now Jaehwan.”

Jaehwan removed the headphones and set them on the music stand before exiting the recording booth. 

“You did so well!” Seongwoo said as Jaehwan sat on the mini couch in the room. 

Jaehwan smiled, “Thanks, I hope it turned out well.”

Seongwoo took a bite of his bagel. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll turn out more than well. Your vocals are no joke!”

Jaehwan was in awe again. How could someone be so attractive while talking with their mouth full? Maybe some people were just born able to look extremely good no matter the activity they were doing. 

“Before you arrived Seongwoo was telling me all about how he basically forced the director to pick you for the OST,” Jaehwan’s manager said next to him. 

The words took Jaehwan by surprise. “Me?” he asked. This was his first time meeting Seongwoo, yet Seongwoo had apparently advocated for Jaehwan to be singing an OST for the movie. 

“Oh!” Seongwoo said. “That’s right! When I saw your name in the list of potential singers, I was like ‘why does this name sound so familiar?’ Then I remembered seeing your performances on _God’s Voice_ and being completely mesmerized by your voice! I was so excited when you debuted, I still listen to your album repeatedly.”

Jaehwan didn’t know how to respond. He was so surprised, he didn’t expect Seongwoo to have paid so much attention to him. “I - thank you! That means so much to me,” Jaehwan tried to say with as much gratitude in his voice. 

“When I listened to the demo for the first time and they gave me a list of who they thought of asking to sing the OST, I said your name the moment I saw it on the list. I couldn’t imagine anyone else singing the song.”

Jaehwan was overcome with emotion. He basically owed this opportunity to Seongwoo. “I guess I owe you my life for this opportunity,” Jaehwan said. 

Seongwoo chuckled at the remark. “You’re funny, Kim Jaehwan. I like you.”

Jaehwan, a little flustered, looked down and smiled, hiding how giddy he felt. Seongwoo’s words were enough to boost and maintain his already high confidence (which he often displayed at minimum out of humbleness) for what felt like could be the rest of his life. The way Seongwoo spoke about him to Jaehwan made Jaehwan feel special. He spoke simply but his emotions overflew with genuinity and honesty. 

Looking back up, Jaehwan grinned. “I like you too, Seongwoo.” 

It was an honest, platonic statement, but neither of the two knew just how deep their relationship with each other was about to become.

-

The rush of the movie premiere happened all so fast. Jaehwan attended the red carpet, did a couple interviews, had a couple photo ops, all before finally entering the theatre. 

He was ushered to a row filled with the main cast, producers and other staff he recognized from the meeting.

“You look good,” said said one of the producers seated next to him. 

‘Thanks,” Jaehwan said. “This is my first time attending a movie premiere.”

Jaehwan had always wanted to attend a movie premiere but he never thought the day would come so soon. All the lights, the socializing, it was a lot; but if it was part of the job that he enjoyed doing so much, then he wouldn’t dare trade any of it. 

In a matter of seconds the entire theater was filled and soon the lights had dimmed before shutting off, leaving the room completely pitch black. Even though all he did was sing a song for the movie, Jaehwan’s heart started pounding in his chest when the film started, almost as if he were an actor part of the main cast about to see the film on the big screen for the first time. 

Because it was the first time Jaehwan would be seeing the film in its entirety for the first time, he didn’t know exactly when his song would play. The OST wasn’t set to be released until the day after and even though he had already seen the final cut of the music video, it still didn’t give him a clue as to when exactly in the film the song would come up. 

When the moment did come though, Jaehwan was in complete awe. As soon as he heard the guitar strumming, he knew what was coming. A couple seconds into the intro, he could hear his humming then soon enough, the sound of his voice filled the theater. It was crazy and indescribable. 

Jaehwan had heard his songs being played in public places before, heard it whenever he performed live but hearing it on the big screen, it was a whole new experience. The biggest grin grew on Jaehwan’s face, his cheeks full and bright. From the corner of his eye he could see a figure bring their body out of their seat. 

Seongwoo was looking at him with the biggest, open smile on his face. 

“That’s your song!” he mouthed overenthusiastically.

He was right. It was Jaehwan’s song. 

“That’s my song!” Jaehwan mouthed back with just as much enthusiasm before sitting back in his seat. He can feel the heat in his cheeks starting to heat up. There was a feeling growing in him, one that he hadn’t felt in a long time, but it was a feeling that he liked, a feeling he hoped would stay with him for a bit longer.

-

On the ride home from the premiere, Jaehwan scrolled through various articles on the movies. Every now and then, there was an article that would mention him, whether it was through passing by saying he was one of the celebrities who attended, or directly by including snippets of his interviews. 

There was one article though that took Jaehwan by surprise. 

_What lead actor Ong Seongwoo wants audiences to look forward to the most_.

Full of curiosity, Jaehwan clicked on the article. 

He skimmed the first couple sentences of the article, knowing that they would just be talking about the movie and the premiere. When he did reach the part of the article that he was most looking forward to, he could feel that familiar feeling forming in him again. 

_”The OST for the film,” Ong had said. “There were many wonderful songs on the film’s soundtrack, but there is one that I want viewers to anticipate and pay attention to specifically: the song done by a good friend of mine, Kim Jaehwan.”_

The article continued to talk about why Seongwoo wanted everyone to pay extra focus to Jaehwan’s OST but all Jaehwan could think about was how Seongwoo had chosen his song as what he wanted viewers to look forward to the most. He could’ve said anything else, a scene, himself, another cast member, but he didn’t. He chose to highlight Jaehwan’s performance and Jaehwan didn’t know how to feel about that. He felt overwhelmed but that weird but good feeling was brewing within him. 

He pressed his fingertips to the tops of his cheeks, checking the temperature. 

“Hm? Why are they so warm?” Jaehwan asked.

He was blushing, but obviously _he_ didn’t know that.


	2. Chapter 2

Right off the bat the film becomes an instant hit. Audiences of all ages have gone to watch the film, breaking a handful of box office records as well as exceeding the cast and production’s expectations of the film. It was positively reviewed by most critics and by the end of the second week of showing, additional showings were added to a handful of major cities outside South Korea. 

The day after the premiere, all the OSTs were released digitally. With the film receiving nothing but praises, all the songs were doing well on the charts, not a single one charting out of the Top 50. As weeks went by and more people saw the film, Jaehwan’s OST in particular was starting to gain traction, steadily making its way up the charts and eventually, into every streaming platform’s Top 10. 

Jaehwan wasn’t sure how much of that had to do with Seongwoo highlighting his OST in particular at the premiere or if it was just due to the film’s growing popularity but either way, Jaehwan knew that it was all thanks to Seongwoo personally advocating for him to sing the OST. 

Because of how grateful he felt for the opportunity to be part of such a large and now popular project, Jaehwan wanted to make it up to Seongwoo as a means of showing his gratitude and thankfulness. 

Within the weeks after the release of the film, Jaehwan and Seongwoo had developed a bond with each other. It all started with Jaehwan treating Seongwoo to dinner a week after the premiere, which led to another dinner, which led to other social affairs. Within the span of a couple weeks, the two had become close friends. 

Because of their ever growing fame as a result of the film’s extensive popularity, their new friendship was gaining quite the attention from the media and the general public. Seongwoo was a top actor, solidifying his celebrity status, which meant that most of the times he stepped outside his apartment, he would be recognized, unless he was wearing a cap and a facemask, of course. 

Their public sightings would spark tons of attention from the media and fans would rave all about it over the internet. The two of them fueled to the fire whenever they would post about each other on their respective social media accounts. Whenever they went to dinner, they would post about it on Instagram. Whenever they would just go driving together, they would post about it on Instagram. Considering this all happened within a couple weeks after the film’s release, it was basically like free promo for the film and their careers.

The two had grown so close to the point where Jaehwan once flew out to Japan where Seongwoo and the rest of the cast were doing a special premiere event just because the latter had asked him to. 

There was an instance when Seongwoo and a couple other cast members were guests on a variety show, and the hosts brought up Seongwoo’s “heart fluttering friendship” with Jaehwan. Seongwoo’s cast members commented on close the two had become over the period of a couple weeks and how they were basically each other’s partners, almost as if a married couple. 

When Jaehwan watched the airing live, he took a picture of Seongwoo on his television and posted it on his Instagram story with hearts all over. As expected, the post had blown up and Jaehwan’s name, Seongwoo’s name, and the film’s name topped online search rankings. 

Jaehwan had never imagined in a million years that his career would explode with the single release of an OST and a budding friendship with a popular actor.

-

“Your _what_?” Seongwoo asked on the other line.

Jaehwan was on his way from another meeting with his management when Seongwoo called him, asking if Jaehwan was free to hang out. Agreeing, Jaehwan said that he would go to where Seongwoo was and pick him up. Out of ideas on where to go and what to do, Jaehwan suggested his personal recording studio. 

A gift from his company after graduating from university, the recording studio was conveniently located between the building of his company and his apartment. He’d never really invited anyone over to his studio before so he thought maybe bringing Seongwoo would be fun. 

“I’ll be there in around fifteen minutes,” Jaehwan said. 

Once Seongwoo was picked up from his apartment and they made it to the studio, Seongwoo immediately hopped into the little recording booth. Jaehwan’s studio was much tinier than that of normal recording studios, but because Jaehwan was the only one who ever used it, its size still got the job done. 

Jaehwan watched as Seongwoo put on the headphones with excitement. He looked comfortable in front of the mic, almost as if he had been a recording artist for many years. 

“What do you wanna sing?” Jaehwan asked. “I have a ton of demos and instrumentals you can sing to.”

“Your OST.”

The words took Jaehwan by surprise for some reason. 

“Really?” he replied. “You’re not sick of hearing it already?” he said jokingly. 

“Of course not. How could I ever get tired of hearing your lovely voice?” Seongwoo teased. It made Jaehwan try to hide his smile. Seongwoo had a way with words that made everyone he sweet talked melt. Jaehwan couldn’t tell whether it was because of how smooth Seongwoo was with his words or if it was because of naturally good looking he was. 

“Alright, whatever you say,” Jaehwan obliged, playing the instrumental. 

When the music started playing, Seongwoo immediately started swaying to the rhythm. He was exactly on time with when Jaehwan would hymn in the intro of the song and started singing when he was supposed to as well. 

That’s when Jaehwan realized how nice Seongwoo’s voice was. To him it sounded like Seongwoo was vocally trained. Jaehwan was about to ask him Seongwoo if he had gotten vocal lessons but decided against it when he saw how immersed in his singing the latter had become. Instead, Jaehwan sat back and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the sound of Seongwoo’s voice.

“How was it?” Seongwoo asked when he finished singing. 

All Jaehwan did to respond was clap. Seongwoo bowed from his spot in the recording booth before exiting and taking a seat on the tiny sofa behind Jaehwan.

“I’m surprised you were the one vouching for me to sing the OST when your voice is just as good, if not better.”

“Oh, stop,” Seongwoo brushed off. “Your voice fits the song perfectly! I’ve heard some talk from other film producers that they’re seriously considering you to sing OSTs for their upcoming projects.”

“Really?!” Jaehwan nearly screamed. Jaehwan hadn’t thought of future OSTs, although his manager had brought up a couple of film and drama executives wanting to set up meetings with him. Jaehwan was still very much focused on the present, how his current OST was doing and listener’s reaction to it. So far, reactions to it has been nothing but successful, and Jaehwan wanted to enjoy that while he could. 

“Of course! With that voice who wouldn’t want to have you sing their OST?”

Jaehwan could feel himself melting to Seongwoo’s words again. “You have such a way with words, you know that right?”

Seongwoo smirked. “I’ve been told a couple times that I can be quite a smooth talker.”

“Oh, I bet,” Jaehwan replied. He goes on to save the recording of Seongwoo’s voice before telling him that he would send Seongwoo the file later on once it finished rendering. Jaehwan wanted to play around with Seongwoo’s vocals and the instrumental so he wanted to spend some time messing around with the recording. 

“Sounds good,” Seongwoo said. “Hey, is that your guitar?”

Seongwoo’s gaze was on the guitar propped up on a stand near the edge of the couch.

“Yeah, did you wanna try it out?” Jaehwan replied. 

Seongwoo’s face lit up. “Yeah!”

Seongwoo was about to get up and reach for the guitar when Jaehwan saw him and immediately grabbed the guitar. “Let me tune her for you first. She’s a bit rusty.”

“Oh, right, do your thing,” Seongwoo said as he slowly sat back. 

“Sorry,” Jaehwan said after tuning the guitar to his liking, realizing how the image of him lunging for the guitar might have looked to Seongwoo. “That probably seemed over possessive of me. I’m just, really protective of my instruments.”

He offered the instrument to Seongwoo, who in turn carefully took it and positioned it over his lap with his left hand coming up from under the neck of the guitar and his right arm gently rested over the waist. “Nah, it’s no problem. Your instruments are like your babies, I get it.”

Sitting before him, the sight of Seongwoo with a guitar in hand was a bit overwhelming for Jaehwan. Seongwoo looked so cool and charming, it made Jaehwan question how someone like Seongwoo could exist. 

It didn’t help that Seongwoo wasn’t so bad at playing guitar either. 

“You can play the guitar too?” Jaehwan asked, his voice failing to hide how impressed he was. 

“Not really,” Seongwoo said. “Just a couple chords.”

“You’d be surprised how far a couple chords and a switch up of strumming techniques can get you,” Jaehwan responded. Immediately after speaking, a thought hit Jaehwan. 

“Do you wanna make some music?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Yeah!” Seongwoo says a little thrown off guard. “You wanna make music with me? I don’t know much about writing or producing though.”

Jaehwan grins. “That’s fine. Just play a couple chords that come to you in the form of a song and I’ll try to come up with a hymn or melody to bring it together.”

“Alright,” Seongwoo said. 

He started off simple. He chose a chord and plucked at the strings then strummed. Despite Jaehwan’s eyes on him, Seongwoo seemed to be unbothered by the undivided attention on him. In a matter of minutes, Jaehwan watched as Seongwoo became immersed in his playing. 

“Okay, I think I’ve got the verses and choruses figured out,” Seongwoo said after bringing his strumming to a halt. He replayed the chord progression he said was for the verses then did the same for the chorus. 

“Not sure how to approach doing the bridge and ending the song,” Seongwoo said when he was done. He looked at Jaehwan with somewhat of a defeated expression, to which Jaehwan wanted to change immediately. 

He put his hands out. “Is it alright if I…”

“Oh! Yeah, sure! It’s your guitar,” Seongwoo said, passing the guitar to Jaehwan. 

The latter sat holding the guitar and thought for a couple seconds. He recalled the chords Seongwoo played and tried to come up with a tune for the bridge and outro. It took him a couple of tries of playing the chorus followed by a variation of melodies that he thought could fit the bridge.

“I liked the second one a lot,” Seongwoo suggested. 

“Really?” Jaehwan asked. Normally, when he worked with people for the first time, Jaehwan found himself or the other person to be very hesitant when expressing what they liked and didn’t like at first; so with Seongwoo, the fact that he was straight up with what he liked gave Jaehwan quite the shock. 

“Yeah, I think it has a better buildup that could lead to a more, empowering final chorus.”

Jaehwan nodded his head. “You’re right.”

“And…” Seongwoo added. “I thought of a way to change the final chorus to make it seem more grand. I’m not sure how you envisioned the full song to sound with layers and all that, but I was thinking that the bridge could end with a complete stop, followed by a full second of silence, then _bam!_ All the instruments come back in and a highnote is belted over the music.”

Jaehwan blinked. “That’s actually...not far off from what I had in mind.”

Suddenly Jaehwan had the urge to start recording. He grabbed the chord that allowed him to record his guitar’s sound and plugged it in, then quickly set up the program on his computer that he used to tweak quick recordings. Once that was all done and ready to go, Jaehwan started by playing out the song’s chord progression the way he imagined it, going from verse to verse. After a single run through of the song, he added pre recorded beats and layered it with the song. 

“How does it sound?” Jaehwan asked after he played the result for Seongwoo. 

The expression on Seongwoo’s face was that of awe. “Way better than what I had in mind. You really just did that all now? They don’t call you the son of music for nothing.”

Jaehwan didn’t expect such praise but coming from Seongwoo, of course it made the younger blush. “Thanks,” he tried to say cooly. 

The remainder of the day continued on the same way. They worked on perfecting that one song they made, going back and forth between their opinions and offering input. The both of them had gotten so immersed into the song making process that they hadn’t even realized hours went by and it was already night time. 

“Wow!” Seongwoo said when he checked the time. “We were here for _that_ long? It didn’t even feel like it took all that long to produce what we did.”

“I mean,” Jaehwan started, “There’s still lyrics and vocals that have to be done, but yeah. Time really flies when you really get involved in the music making process.”

After closing up his studio, Jaehwan and Seongwoo went their separate ways. Jaehwan offered Seongwoo a ride home but the latter declined, saying that his manager was going to pick him up and that they were going to have dinner together. Jaehwan obliged and drove home. 

On the way back, he couldn’t help but think about how much fun he had making music with Seongwoo. Although the older said that that wasn’t his first time being in a studio and making music, he did say that he had never gotten so involved with actually making music the way he was with Jaehwan that day. 

Seongwoo was a fun person to be around when it came to making music. He was fun but wasn’t too distracting, he knew when to take it seriously but never held back from sharing his opinions nor did he cross boundaries. 

Before falling asleep later that night, Jaehwan hoped he and Seongwoo could take the time to finish their song in the near future.

-

The next couple of weeks Jaehwan and Seongwoo are doing their own thing. Jaehwan takes some time off from promoting and being in the spotlight to focus on writing and producing, as well as having discussions for his next album. Seongwoo goes abroad with the rest of the film’s cast and crew for international premieres and promotional activities.

Despite the physical distance, Jaehwan and Seongwoo remained in constant contact. They would always be sending each other silly messages and selfies, and they would post frequently tag each other on social media whenever they came across the other. Jaehwan would always see ads and posters of Seongwoo and the film so he’d post about it whenever he came across them, while Seongwoo would hear Jaehwan’s OST and post about whenever it was playing near him. 

Clearly the two had grown extremely close within a short amount of time, and it only seemed like their friendship would continue to flourish.


	3. Chapter 3

When Seongwoo and the rest of the cast got back from their trip abroad promoting the film, he and Jaehwan made plans to meet up for drinks and karaoke. 

“Jaehwan!” Seongwoo screams when Jaehwan enters the karaoke room. Due to traffic, Jaehwan was late by nearly half an hour, which meant Seongwoo had that much time to not only sing, but drink. 

“My best friend!” Seongwoo then says with open arms, completely ignoring the song he was in the middle of singing. 

Jaehwan indulges in Seongwoo’s need for affection and embraces him. He can immediately smell the scent of liquor heavy on the older but Jaehwan isn’t bothered. 

“I’ve missed your big head so much,” Jaehwan says instead, swaying left and right as the two hug. 

When they finally break apart, Seongwoo in all his giddiness, cups Jaehwan’s cheeks in his hands. “I’ve missed these cheeks!” he says, then proceeds to squeeze them. The pain stings but Jaehwan doesn’t flinch, the sight of a tipsy yet happy Seongwoo overwhelming him with joy. 

“I see you’ve already had some to drink,” Jaehwan says, his gaze shifting towards the shot glasses and bottles on the mini table. 

Seongwoo shrugs. “What did you expect, for me to just sit here in silence and wait for you? Of course I was gonna drink!”

Jaehwan laughed. “I apologize. I’m here and that’s all that matters, right?”

Seongwoo furrowed his brows. “No!” he whines. “What matters is that you get absolutely as wrecked as I am right so I don’t feel as bad about having just taking a couple too many shots before you got here!”

“Well,” Jaehwan says innocently, “can’t do that.”

“Why not?!” Seongwoo whined. 

“Because,” Jaehwan started, “I have a meeting tomorrow morning and knowing me and you, we’re gonna end up here all night long, so I can’t get drunk. Also, I drove here.”

“Sucks to be you,” Seongwoo cooed in Jaehwan’s face before going to choose another song to sing. Jaehwan only chuckles at the older’s childish antics.

-

By the time Seongwoo’s absolutely wasted and Jaehwan’s reached the point of exhaustion, it was already a little past one in the morning.

Jaehwan tidied up the small room to the best of his ability, stacking shot glasses one over another and grouping the bottles of alcohol together. He really couldn’t believe that Seongwoo had consumed all of that in one night.

“Alright, buddy, let’s get going,” Jaehwan said to a completely drunk Seongwoo sprawled out on the sofa. 

“Help me up,” Seongwoo manages to say. Jaehwan pulls Seongwoo up by the arms and the latter immediately uses him to help him stand upright. After some struggle of getting Seongwoo out of the building, Jaehwan managed to get the older seated inside his car. 

Jaehwan assumed that Seongwoo had knocked out once they were on the road but it became apparent that he wasn’t when from the backseat of Jaehwan’s car came what sounded like incoherent rambling. 

“He’s so cute, he has such a pure face.”

The words take Jaehwan by surprise. _’He’_?

“He’s funny, and kind, and talented. He can be an idiot at times, but that’s okay.”

There’s a pause before Seongwoo starts talking again. “Do you think he’ll run away if I tell him?”

“Tell who what?” Jaehwan asks, curious to see if a very drunk Seongwoo will spill.

“Nevermind,” Seongwoo shrugs off. 

Jaehwan wonders who exactly Seongwoo could be talking about. Judging by what he’d said so far and the tone of voice, it seemed like Seongwoo was very affectionate for that person; however, Jaehwan couldn’t help but also wonder if there was any romantic interest in Seongwoo’s words. 

Unfortunately, Seongwoo had completely knocked out after muttering those words, leaving Jaehwan with no choice but to keep wondering about the person Seongwoo had in mind.

-

To Jaehwan’s surprise, getting Seongwoo from the parking lot up to his apartment was just as hard as it was getting him out of the karaoke bar. What was even more difficult was having to figure out what to do with Seongwoo once they were finally at his apartment. Fortunately, once they were inside, Seongwoo was able to make his way towards his bed in one piece.

“Whew,” Jaehwan sight out of relief after Seongwoo was in bed tucked under the covers. Seongwoo looked content now that he wasn’t moving around so much and was resting in the comfort of his own bed. 

Jaehwan was about to make his way out of Seongwoo’s room to leave when Seongwoo mumbled something. “Stay,” he said. He then grabs onto Jaehwan’s hand and tugs on him to move closer to the bed. Jaehwan can only oblige. 

Seongwoo makes a half assed attempt to scoot his body sideways before wrapping his arms around Jaehwan’s waist, allowing the latter to take a seat next to him on the bed. Jaehwan assumes Seongwoo just wants the company to help him fall asleep, but he’s proven wrong when Seongwoo starts rambling on again. 

“I can’t stop thinking about him,” Seongwoo starts. “From his eyes to his nose, to his cute lips and pointy ears, his warm heart and obnoxious laugh, his dumpling cheeks, that god given voice he has.”

He sighs. “Jjaenie.”

Jaehwan’s eyes widen. “Me?” he mouths silently to himself. He starts to doubt it, but then realizes that most of what Seongwoo had been saying resonated with many of the things Jaehwan identified with. How many pointy eared singers with dumpling like cheeks and an obnoxious laugh did Seongwoo know? It had to be Jaehwan.

Immediately his face starts heating up as he thinks about the possibility of being the object of Seongwoo’s affection. It doesn’t help at all that Seongwoo’s got his arms wrapped around him. Looking down at those arms wrapped his waist, Jaehwan blushes. Seongwoo’s already knocked out by then, the sound of his snoring filling the room. The small smile has on as he sleeps brings a smile to Jaehwan’s face.

Tired from exhaustion, Jaehwan makes the last minute decision to sleepover at Seongwoo’s place. He sets an early alarm on his phone before allowing sleep to take him.

-

On the drive back to his apartment the following morning, Jaehwan thinks about the events of the past night. The person Seongwoo had been drunk rambling about was him, and although he wasn’t quite sure what to do in the situation, he knew he was happy about it.

_Do you think he’ll run away if I tell him?_

Those words make its way back to Jaehwan’s memory. Did Seongwoo have any intention of confessing how he felt to Jaehwan? Not that it mattered anymore, Jaehwan knew everything thanks to Seongwoo and his inability to keep his big mouth shut whenever he got drunk.

-

Later that day after his meeting was over, Jaehwan showed up to Seongwoo’s place with coffee and baked goods, just to make sure his friend was okay after such a night of drinking.

“Your timing is impeccable, Kim Jaehwan,” Seongwoo said as Jaehwan entered the older’s apartment. “I literally just woke up.”

It showed. Seongwoo’s hair was a mess from sleeping and his breath reeked of a mixture between morning breath and alcohol. Jaehwan immediately handed Seongwoo the cup of coffee in his hand. 

“Thanks,” Seongwoo says as he accepted the coffee. “Not just for the coffee, but for taking care of me last night.”

He gives Jaehwan a thankful smile. Jaehwan isn’t sure if it’s knowledge of Seongwoo’s feelings or if he’s being delusional, but he can feel the warmth and affection from Seongwoo’s smile. 

“What’s that?” Seongwoo asks, pointing to the bag in Jaehwan’s hand. 

“Oh! Just some baked goods,” Jaehwan says as he hands over the bag to Seongwoo, who takes it and sits down on his couch, unpacking the box inside bag. 

“These smell so good!” Seongwoo comments.

Jaehwan takes a seat on the single seat sofa perpendicular to the couch. “Seongwoo?”

“Yeah?” Seongwoo manages to answer with his mouth full of bread. The sight is too adorable, he looks like a chipmunk. 

Jaehwan wanted to address what he had found out last night, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull through in telling Seongwoo. Rather than say he has something he has to tell him, Jaehwan says something else instead. 

“Do they taste good? It’s from a new cafe that I came across on my way here.”

Seongwoo starts speaking with his mouth full again. “For sure! Here, have some,” Seongwoo responds, offering the box to Jaehwan. He chuckles at how ecstatic Seongwoo was about how good the baked goods were and how the older couldn’t stop talking with his mouth full.

“What?” Seongwoo asks innocently, completely unaware as to what was funny. 

“Nothing,” Jaehwan says, taking a bite of a cream filled pastry to avoid further answering any more questions.

He wanted to tell Seongwoo, because he felt that Seongwoo had the right to know that Jaehwan was aware of his feelings, but he didn’t feel like it was the right time. Jaehwan wasn’t sure there would ever be a time that was right for such matters but in the moment, he was going to push the thought aside and keep it in the back of his head.


	4. Chapter 4

A couple weeks go by since that night. Jaehwan continues on with his life as if nothing happened, as if he isn’t completely aware of his best friend’s feelings toward him. It doesn’t help the uneasiness of knowing especially since it seems as of late that Seongwoo was being much more open with his affection and skinship. 

Despite the standstill of the situation, it definitely helped Jaehwan with his recent songwriting. He was able to write and compose most of at least three songs, all of which were inspired by the predicament he was in with Seongwoo. Over those couple weeks however, Jaehwan comes to develop feelings for Seongwoo, although he isn’t aware of them. 

About a week after that night, Jaehwan received a facetime notification from Seongwoo in the middle of the night. 

“I can’t sleep,” Seongwoo pouted. Even through bad lighting and shitty facetime quality, Seongwoo still managed to look as handsome as ever, even with no makeup and hair a disheveled mess. 

“I’ll sing you a lullaby,” Jaehwan says. It reads as corny to him but he thinks it’ll help Seongwoo fall asleep. 

“Don’t!” Seongwoo protests. “I’ll end up falling asleep.”

Naturally, Jaehwan’s confused. “Isn’t that the point?”

“Well, yeah, but I just wanna hear your voice and if you sing me a lullaby I’ll end up falling asleep.”

The explanation doesn’t prove logical to Jaehwan. “Wait, what?”

“I just want to hear your voice,” Seongwoo promptly says. 

“But you don’t exactly want to sleep?” Jaehwan asks. 

“Correct.”

Jaehwan smirks. “Okay, well I’ll just scream then.” He’s about to open his mouth when Seongwoo stops him. 

“No, you idiot! Tell me about your day or something.”

Jaehwan laughs. “Did you not want to hear my lovely screaming?”

“If I wanted to hear you screaming I’d look up a compilation video of your laughs on the internet or something!”

Jaehwan finds it cute how Seongwoo’s getting upset over just wanting to hear Jaehwan’s voice. Normally he was one to play along with teasing but Jaehwan guesses Seongwoo desperately wanted to hear his voice. 

“I didn’t do much today so if I told you about everything I did, I’d probably bore you to sleep.”

“That’s okay,” Seongwoo says in his softest voice. Jaehwan can tell Seongwoo’s getting tired. “As long as I can hear your voice,” Seongwoo continues to say.

“Okay,” Jaehwan smiles. 

He doesn’t get that far into talking about his day by the time Seongwoo’s already knocked out. Through the line Jaehwan can hear his snoring, it makes him laugh a little. 

“Good night, hyung,” Jaehwan says before hanging up. 

He thinks about the encounter that just happened. He’s not sure why but for some reason his face feels flushed and there’s a weird feeling in his stomach. Rather than ponder on it, Jaehwan settles himself back into bed and left off where he was sleeping.

-

A couple days after that facetime call, Jaehwan and Seongwoo went out for ice cream and a drive one night. Once they were on the road did they start eating their desserts. Seongwoo opped for non-powdered mochi ice cream while Jaehwan opped for a tall soft serve ice cream cone.

With the windows down they drove along the highway, with Seongwoo’s playlist of Western pop songs blasting through the speakers serving as their background music. Jaehwan could feel the adrenaline increase in him as they continued driving, heavy excitement and the beat from the music filling him. 

The drive consisted of Jaehwan singing along to the lyrics of songs he knew, singing the melody if he didn’t, and laughing at Seongwoo’s obnoxious singing and gesturing. Jaehwan had never felt so free and exhilarated just singing and driving. In that moment he felt deeply thankful and lucky to have met and befriended someone like Seongwoo.

After almost an hour of just aimless driving, they decided to make it back to the city to get some actual food. They turned the music down and rolled their windows back once they reached a stoplight. 

“What should we eat?” Seongwoo asked. 

Jaehwan wasn’t craving anything in particular so he wasn’t sure what to suggest. 

“Oh? That place looks new,” Seongwoo says, pointing to the right of Jaehwan. The latter looks in the following direction. 

“All you can eat? Sounds good,” Jaehwan says. 

“Try look at me, Jaehwan,” Seongwoo suddenly says. 

“Hm?” Jaehwan turns.

Seongwoo brings his thumb up close to Jaehwan’s mouth, then wipes the patch of skin near the corner of his lips. “You had a little ice cream on you.”

Jaehwan’s breath suddenly hitches and he doesn’t realize he’s stopped breathing until Seongwoo asks him if he’s okay. 

“Huh?” Jaehwan blinks. 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Just, taken aback is all,” Jaehwan manages to say. 

The entire short ride to the buffet restaurant Jaehwan spends thinking about that moment. Why was he so flustered? Did Seongwoo think anything of it? Did Seongwoo notice how flustered Jaehwan was? Did Seongwoo decide to take advantage of the opportunity to perform his acting magic on Jaehwan so like in typical k-drama fashion, Jaehwan would have no choice but to fall in love with him?

Clearly it was a lot to think about but again, Jaehwan pushed all those thoughts aside and focused on the all-you-can-eat buffet that he was about to indulge in.

-

About two weeks later, Jaehwan finds himself in his own bed one morning with the Seongwoo’s arms wrapped around him still asleep.

No, it’s definitely what one might think when reading those words. The previous night the two of them had some sort of a movie night in which they stayed up until nearly three in the morning just watching films.

It’s in that moment, with Seongwoo’s around his waist sleeping peacefully next to him, does Jaehwan realize that maybe, just maybe, he might have some feelings towards Seongwoo too. 

Seeing as a couple weeks had gone by since Seongwoo’s drunken slipup, it was assumed by Jaehwan that he didn’t have any intention of confessing to Jaehwan anytime soon. Jaehwan however doesn’t want things to keep moving the way they have been those past couple weeks, especially not since Jaehwan had finally come to terms with his feelings. 

Normally Jaehwan was shy when it came to those sorts of things, but with Seongwoo, because of how comfortable he was with him, Jaehwan felt like there was a chance of opportunity there.

With no hesitation Jaehwan sat up, disturbing Seongwoo in his sleep. 

“What time is it?” Seongwoo groaned, wiping at his eyes. 

“Hyung, I need to tell you something,” Jaehwan says. 

Seongwoo blinks a couple times more, letting his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room, before sitting up. “Is everything alright?”

Jaehwan hadn’t thought of how he was going to go about talking about his feelings so he decided right then that he was just going to let his mouth do all the talking. “You see, there’s someone I’ve been thinking about recently, and I think I’ve come to my senses that there might be some feelings there, and I think that person might feel the same way, but I really don’t know how to approach the situation.”

Seongwoo stared at Jaehwan dumbfounded. It wasn’t quite the reaction Jaehwan expected, but then again, Jaehwan didn’t really have any expectations in the first place, nor did he have the time to have any. 

“Well,” Seongwoo starts, “What’s this person like?”

This causes Jaehwan to think that maybe Seongwoo’s catching on. 

“Hm,” Jaehwan pretends to think, “Aside from their good looks and extreme talent for performing, this person’s also really funny and has a big heart.”

“This person you speak of sounds like a catch, why don’t you just tell them how you feel?” Seongwoo says. Maybe he wasn’t catching on. 

“I -” Jaehwan’s about to explain when Seongwoo checks the time on his phone and immediately jumps out of bed. “I forgot I have to meet my manager at noon! I’ll see you later!”

And in a matter of seconds Seongwoo’s already up and out the door. 

Jaehwan slumps face forward onto his bed. “Ughhhhh.”

-

Nearly two weeks following that morning, Jaehwan was able to clear his mind about the situation and found a way to approach it. Fortunately for Jaehwan, it seemed as if Seongwoo had completely forgotten his sporadic sharing of his feelings, which meant that Jaehwan didn’t have to worry about confronting his feelings or Seongwoo’s feelings directly.

During those two weeks, Jaehwan spent a lot of time in the studio, recording and perfecting songs he was going to consider including in his next album. There was one song in particular though that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to include, but it was one he did spend the most time on it: the song he started producing with Seongwoo. 

It was a confession song. 

The lyrics weren’t too descriptive, at least not in the recorded version. Jaehwan’s original lyrics however, they were quite on the nose in regards to who exactly he was referring to. One look at the lyrics and anyone who knew Seongwoo would know that he was the person Jaehwan was referring to.

The song, Jaehwan decided, was what he was going to use to help relay how he felt towards Seongwoo. He wasn’t sure if Seongwoo still had any romantic feelings for him at all by that point, but what Jaehwan knew for sure was that he had feelings for Seongwoo. 

He didn’t want to make a big fuss out of it, so he just asked Seongwoo to come over to his place when he was free. Jaehwan would take it from there and hope for the best. 

That day came quicker than Jaehwan expected and he wasn’t sure if he viewed that as a blessing or a curse. Either way, he wasn’t going to let the situation drag on any longer, no matter how anxious it made him.

The moment Seongwoo arrived, Jaehwan felt his heart pumping faster in his chest.

“Hey!” Seongwoo greeted. “Brought some drinks.”

“Thanks,” Jaehwan said. He took the drinks and walked over to his sofa, placing the drinks on the mini table. 

“Is everything good?” Seongwoo asked as he took a seat. 

“Yeah,” Jaehwan said with hesitance. “Actually, I was wondering if you could listen to this song real quick.”

“Okay!” Seongwoo agrees immediately. 

Jaehwan brings his guitar out from its stand and positions it over his lap. He spends a couple moments turning it first then takes a deep breathe. He’s performed in front of large crowds and even on national television yet for some reason, sitting before Seongwoo, he feels nervous. He can feel Seongwoo’s gaze on him so Jaehwan quickly pushes his thoughts aside and proceeds with his song.

He starts off by plucking at the strings followed by strumming. He can tell by Seongwoo’s face that the latter is realizing that the song Jaehwan’s playing is the one they came up with in his studio that one night. 

Jaehwan then starts singing. The lyrics he wrote were simple, expressing the feelings of someone who had unexpectedly fallen completely head over heels for their best friend. It was a calm yet upbeat song, one that seemed to embody the excitement that came with new crushes.

When it came to the bridge however, this is where he tweaked it from the version they had recorded in the studio. Because the version Jaehwan was singing only consisted of his voice and his guitar, he modified the bridge to less of a power verse and more of a stripped verse. Instead of including strumming like the chorus and other verses, the bridge was just a couple plucks of the strings followed by a single strum, which Jaehwan gently sang over. 

Where the verses and chorus were more general in terms of its lyrics, the bridge was where Jaehwan decided to convey his feelings. In his melodic voice, he sang about feeling how when he first met Seongwoo, he couldn’t stop thinking about how good looking he was and how over time, as they grew closer, Jaehwan was able to discover that Seongwoo’s personality matched that of his good looks. He referenced their facetime call from when Seongwoo whined about wanting to hear Jaehwan’s voice, the heart fluttering moment when Seongwoo wiped ice cream off the corner of his mouth, and how warm and comfortable he felt the morning he woke up in Seongwoo’s arms after their movie marathon. 

The entire time he sang the bridge Jaehwan maintained eye contact with Seongwoo. The more Jaehwan sang, the more it showed on Seongwoo’s face that he realized what was happening. Once Jaehwan finished singing, he felt an extreme weight fall off his shoulders. 

They looked at each other for a bit, neither saying word. Jaehwan felt like he had just poured out his heart and soul and now that it was over, he didn’t know what to expect. Before Jaehwan can say anything though, Seongwoo leans in and cups Jaehwan’s cheeks in his hands, pressing Jaehwan’s lips to his. 

They stay like that for a bit, their lips pressed up against one another. Jaehwan’s face heats up and judging by the way Seongwoo’s lips smile against Jaehwan’s, Seongwoo could tell Jaehwan was blushing. Jaehwan couldn’t care less though because all he was feeling in that moment was utter bliss.

When Seongwoo breaks apart, the palms of his hands remain pressed against Jaehwan’s cheeks. They stay looking at each other for a bit before they both burst into loud, obnoxious laughter. 

Jaehwan puts his guitar down out of fear of dropping it. The moment he’s hands free he’s immediately pounced on by Seongwoo. Jaehwan falls back and suddenly Seongwoo’s body is pressed above his own, the latter’s face now only inches away from Jaehwan’s. “Do you know how lucky I am to have met you, Kim Jaehwan? Extremely lucky.”

Jaehwan, who is at a loss for words, continues to look at Seongwoo in awe. He was about to protest and say that he was the luckier one when Seongwoo kisses him again. 

This time Jaehwan found no reason to protest. Instead he smiled with his lips pressed against Seongwoo’s and wrapped his arms around Seongwoo’s neck. 

It was hard to say how long they stayed like that but based on their explosive chemistry and deep attraction towards each other, it was certain that they remained that way for quite a while.

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to the prompters for setting this fest up and also to all the writers who contributed!


End file.
